Yet another huge abatement of your money just went in a huge giveaway to KRE Group to build more uninspiring condos at Ninth Street and Marin Boulevard. Yep, right there on the way to the Holland Tunnel. Yeah the main route. Someone may tell you they'll try not to interrupt traffic meanwhile delivering muffins and more Cocoa Puffs to "City Planning" to close the roads. How much traffic can Erie, oh, wait, they'll block that too.
And you're gonna pay through the nose for it. In fact, if the mayor's team on this weren't in such utter disarray over this, it could have been much worse. Terrence T. McDonald, show everyone the level of dysfunction going on on a night millions of tax dollars are being voted on:
The city initially intended to award KRE a 30-year tax abatement, but the deal was amended to 20 years tonight. Asked why, Corporation Counsel Jeremy Farrell told The Jersey Journal to ask Deputy Mayor Marcos Vigil, who declined to explain.
Left hand meet right hand. And, if you'll remember Johnny's comment about Fulop's first term being a Healy's third term, well here's more proof he was right.
"Excuse us, why did that big giant thing just go sideways?"
"Whatever."
The level of inept is so prevalent it's spilling out of the barrel into public view. Know why it doesn't seem to get the ink it should? City Council puts their stamp of approval on everything Fulop says and his spokespeople of the month are free to hide behind council. The vote for the abatement (Luckily the city wasn't giving loans too like last month) was 6-2 with Councilman Michael Yun once again realizing money doesn't grow on trees, voting no as did Candice Osborne. Councilperson Osborne is all over the map on which abatements and projects she'll vote for. Votes against a plan to have a building going up in her own neighborhood have a higher floor allowance, votes for the further financial gutting of the city for the "Pep Boys" abatements, perhaps the worst deal this council has ever signed off on, and is back to no on this deal.
It's fair to say she's trying to hold the mayor to a deal he announced last week and promptly took a week to break (Hear that NJ voters?) but sure seems to want it both ways. The long-term financial heath of Jersey City is important to ALL the residents, not just those with children would be our advice to the Osborne.
Which brings us to the king of voting for anything the mayor wants, Council President Rolando Lavarro. He's Council President. He's touted the benefit of several of the abatements downtown and around PADNA as being good for the neighborhood. Know what a PADNA birdie told Johnny? Until the last month when Council President Lavarro took a walk around the neighborhood with a PADNA official, he'd never even been there. He's touting tax breaks for a large part of the city he's never been to.
Mt. McKinley anyone? Maybe the Mt. McKinley of spending. We're beginning to think that when Mr. Lavarro was a kid someway, somehow his toy bobble heads went up and down YES and not the usual back and forth NO.
Why is a guy being charged with a DWI and fired from a "no show" job voting on other people's abatements?
So as the inept spills out of the administrative branch all over the streets, the legislative branch looks for ways you the taxpayer can clean it up.
Yep, Johnny's back from vacation...
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